Just bought a 1991 Miyata 1000 LT. It's got a biopace crank on it w/ gearing way higher than what I could handle on a loaded bike. I'd like to get something like a 22-32-44 set of rings. What kind of crank would that be? I'm only familiar w/ road cranks and they're 110-74 BCD so the smallest ring I've ever had is a 24t. Any crank recommendations out there for low gearing?

Just bought a 1991 Miyata 1000 LT. It's got a biopace crank on it w/ gearing way higher than what I could handle on a loaded bike. I'd like to get something like a 22-32-44 set of rings. What kind of crank would that be? I'm only familiar w/ road cranks and they're 110-74 BCD so the smallest ring I've ever had is a 24t. Any crank recommendations out there for low gearing?

thanks!

Get a Shimano LX Hollowtech II (external bearing) like this one. Look around before you buy however. This isn't necessarily the best price. Dead easy to install and repair on the road.

I'll second the Shimano crankset with the external BB, you can also get the new Deore crankset with external BB now if you're on a budget. I installed a set on a bike today and they seemed pretty decent for the money.

The Shimano Hollowtech says it's 9 spd, I've only got a 7 spd freewheel, is that going to throw anything off? And since the BB is integrated, will it fit my 1991 BB shell? or does it require a larger size?

The Shimano Hollowtech says it's 9 spd, I've only got a 7 spd freewheel, is that going to throw anything off? And since the BB is integrated, will it fit my 1991 BB shell? or does it require a larger size?

The 7/9 speed shouldn't make any difference. The 9 speed has slightly thinner rings but that shouldn't matter. Your bottom bracket is probably a 68mm (fairly standard for quite a while). Just measure it. Even if it is a 73mm, there are spacers to adjust for the difference.

Shimano M460 crank.44-32 22 gearing,Hollowtech arms,steel gears on the middle and granny,pins and ramps if you need them,squareBB so you have lots of BB's to choose from for a good chainline.Cost around $80w/BB.This crank does not belong in any of the "groups".It's a stand alone crank that Shimano makes that alot of people don't know about.

Was going to buy one myself but decided to install a 20 tooth gear on my old SR triple instead,even though it's suppose to only take 24 tooth.I changed the BCD from 74 to 58.

I own an automotive machine shop,so I have mills and lathes and tig welders.

I didn't use any of them though.....

It's just a ring with 5 bolt holes at 74 BCD and 5 bolt holes at 58 BCD.My crank used spacers between the gear seat and the gear,so I made the plate the same thickness as the spacers and bolted the gear to it.Spaces it the same as the one I took off.

square taper BB's and cranks work very well, last a long time, are cheap and you can find them even in less technologically sophisticated parts of the world.

When I built up my last touring bike I used a Shimano square taper BB [~$30 @ the LBS] and a Deore MTB crank [~$40 @ LBS] - probably the model noted by Booger1 poster above. You ca probably get them a lot cheaper if you do the EBay thing.